Hundreds of people braved chilly weather to line up in front of department stores nationwide yesterday to claim a “lucky bag” (福袋) on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but not everyone managed to get what they wished for.
As part of a Lunar New Year tradition, department and retail stores in Taiwan and a few other Asian countries offer bags filled with mystery goodies to customers who wish to “try their luck” as they welcome the new year.
Top prizes range from large amounts of cash to cars, laptop computers and television sets. Every year hundreds of people line up at department stores to purchase their lucky bags on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
PHOTO: HUANG JHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The economic downturn meant that only three cars were given away in Taiwan this year, two by department stores in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung, compared with seven cars last year.
The bags’ prices varied from store to store — in smaller cities, customers could purchase a bag for NT$100 if they spent more than NT$1,000. At pricier stores, the bags can cost up to NT$3,000, not to mention the time spent waiting in line, as the numbers of bags are usually limited.
Some people were more determined than others and even gave up big family dinners on Lunar New Year’s Eve to camp out in tents outside of some stores.
After hours of standing in line, however, not everyone was pleased to discover what was in their bag.
A young female customer who had received a razor and a teddy bear said: “I’m kind of disappointed, because it’s not as good as ones I have received in previous years.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai